The Goddess of Knowledge and Maiden Charity

Former city poet laureate Leslea Newman posited, tongue in cheek, that Northampton was fated to be Lesbianville “in 1884, when Thomas M. Shepherd designed the official city seal, which depicts the Goddess of Knowledge holding hands with the Maiden Charity.” I included this quote in one of the earliest blog posts along with a fuzzy reproduction of the city seal and a request for a better reproduction.

Recently, out of the blue, this three year old wish was granted. Elizabeth Sharpe, Co-Executive Director of Historic Northampton, sent me a scan of the original artwork by Shepherd from their holdings. Thank you Betty. Historic Northampton is also online if you are out of town and wish a browsing visit, including old maps and other sources. https://www.historicnorthampton.org/ and is also on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HistoricNorthampton/

I like this town seal on many levels beyond the two female representions. There’s the oxbow in the distance, and perhaps that’s Mt. Tom, and what appear to be silk moths and mulberry fruits and leaves in the border.